HISTORY OF EUROPEAN POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS
Academic Year 2026/2027 - Teacher: SALVATORE ROBERTO TUFANOExpected Learning Outcomes
The course aims to provide students with the fundamental elements for understanding the forms political power has taken during the modern and contemporary eras, as well as the mechanisms—constitutional, institutional, and administrative—through which it is exercised within various European societies. Particular emphasis will be placed on themes such as democracy, citizenship, and rights within the Western political tradition, in order to provide insight into the actual development of channels for democratic participation in political power. Within this framework, the discussion of current socio-political issues will be encouraged as an exercise in critical thinking. The goal is to train individuals capable of fostering relational and personal development within communities, as well as the autonomy and social and professional integration of people across different stages of life. Furthermore, students will be equipped to promote practices of social integration, health education, and civic coexistence within organizational and community settings—including those characterized by conflict and complexity.
Expected Learning Outcomes – Dublin Descriptors
1. Knowledge and understanding
By the end of the course, students will have acquired adequate knowledge of the key processes regarding the formation, transformation, and crisis of European political institutions in the modern and contemporary eras. They will be able to understand the historical forms assumed by political power, the processes of modern state-building, the relationships between institutions and society, and the dynamics of political integration and disintegration, with particular attention to the specific cases examined during the course and to the imperial and Mediterranean dimensions.
2. Applying knowledge and understanding
Students will be able to apply the knowledge acquired to the analysis of historical-institutional phenomena and issues, situating them within their specific political, social, and cultural contexts. They will be able to use categories and concepts specific to the history of political institutions to interpret sources, texts, and case studies, identifying continuities, transformations, and differences among various institutional models.
3. Independent judgment
Students will develop the ability to formulate independent and critically grounded assessments of the historical-institutional processes studied. By comparing different historiographical interpretations, they will be able to critically examine concepts such as the State, sovereignty, power, empire, citizenship, rights, and belonging, distinguishing historical reconstruction from political and ideological interpretations.
4. Communication skills
Students will be able to articulate the main themes of the history of political institutions clearly and precisely, using appropriate historical, political, and institutional terminology. They will also be capable of presenting arguments—both orally and in writing—by coherently organizing the knowledge acquired and critically discussing the issues addressed during the course.
5. Learning skills
Students will acquire the methodological tools necessary to independently explore themes and issues related to the history of political institutions. They will be able to navigate scholarly literature, critically engage with new texts and case studies, and connect the knowledge acquired with other areas of historical, political, and social studies.
Course Structure
Required Prerequisites
Attendance of Lessons
Detailed Course Content
The course aims to analyze the history of political power in the Western world through constitutional history—understood in the broadest sense as the history of political constellations and ever-shifting balances of power—as expressed and formalized in both formal and informal organizations and institutions that are generated and develop through continuous adaptation to the forms of political culture, religion, scientific discoveries, technical expertise, and public rituals. Thus, it places at the center of its analysis the centuries-long process of the accumulation and concentration of sovereign power, which culminated in the 19th century in a period of strong autonomy for state power.
Course Planning
| Subjects | Text References | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction to the history of political institutions. Concepts of institution, state, power, sovereignty and society. | |
| 2 | The formation of the modern state. Institutional transformations, administration and society in modern Europe. | |
| 3 | Institutions and societies in the modern age. Political culture, law and forms of power. | |
| 4 | Political and institutional modernity. Evolution of the State and problems of modernization. | |
| 5 | Political power in Europe. Origins and historical development of power structures. | |
| 6 | State, sovereignty and territory. Processes of centralization and construction of state apparatus. | |
| 7 | Administration, taxation and institutions. Instruments and structures of European political power. | |
| 8 | Modern state and imperial forms. European institutional models and comparison; educational materials on the Empires. | |
| 9 | France and Southern Italy. State, institutions and political-social dynamics between the 17th and 18th centuries. | |
| 10 | Sicily, monarchy and social disintegration. Institutional transformations from Louis XIV to the Revolution. | |
| 11 | Israel-Palestine: historical and institutional perspective. Formation and transformation of political structures. | |
| 12 | Israel-Palestine and political institutions. Historical, institutional and interpretative issues; summary and conclusive links. |
Learning Assessment
Learning Assessment Procedures
18–21/30: essential knowledge of the subject matter and generally sufficient presentation skills, despite some uncertainties.
22–24/30: fair knowledge of the subject matter, adequate ability to place topics in context, and generally correct use of discipline-specific terminology.
25–27/30: good knowledge of the subject matter, ability to draw connections between themes and issues, and clear, appropriate presentation.
28–30/30: in-depth and coherent knowledge of the subject matter, capacity for critical analysis and independent synthesis, mastery of historical-institutional terminology, and the ability to make effective connections between the various course topics.
30 cum laude: excellent mastery of the subject matter and analytical tools, a high degree of independent judgment, and exceptional ability to critically examine issues and connect themes, sources, and historiographical interpretations.